Patrick Chaplin: Darts History

Winmau Masters

Your quick guide to the Worlds longest running Major Darts Event

The Winmau World Masters

The Men's World Masters has been played annually since 1974, and the 2008 Winmau World Masters will be the 35th staging of the oldest established major in World Darts and shown live on the BBC TV from The Spa, Bridlington over the weekend of December 6th and 7th.

The Women's Winmau World Masters was added in 1982 and is the oldest established World Championship event for Women, of which Winmau sponsored Trina Gulliver has won a record breaking 5 times.

Players from over sixty countries, representing all six continents of the world are invited to compete.

40 countries and approaching 1,000 players will compete in the Winmau Finals this year alone.

Every year hundreds of thousands of players set out on the path to compete in the World Masters.

With hundreds of thousands of players annually going through national qualifiers, over 5 million players have played in the Winmau World Masters

In its 35 Year History The Winmau World Masters has an accumulated prize fund in excess of £1 million.

In 2007 John ‘Boy’ Walton became the first player ever to hit a nine-darter in the televised stages of the Winmau World Masters.

Eric Bristow holds the record of five Winmau World Masters titles: 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1984

Bob Anderson is the only player to have won 3 consecutive Winmau World Masters: 1986, 1987 and 1988.

BBC Worldwide televise the Winmau World Masters to over 70 countries around the globe to a potential TV audience of over 100 million a year.

The Winmau World Masters has been contested in London, Frimley Green and Bridlington.

The Winmau Youth World Masters was added in 1983 and has entertained over 100,000 Youth Players

The Boys Masters was first played in 1986.

The Girls Masters began in 1999.

The vast majority of top dart players from 1974 to the present day have, at some time, participated in the World Masters.

The Winmau World Masters

A truly Global Darts event run by the British Darts Organisation

For further information regarding the Winmau premium range of darts equipment visit